Many New Jersey immigrants say they struggle to overcome significant challenges that often include language barriers when they come to live in the United States. It's conceivable that immigrants who are parents, perhaps those in need of counseling regarding adoption or other child custody matters, could possibly misunderstand something being communicated or could suffer if adoption officials failed to properly inform them of their rights. This type of situation sometimes occurs even among parents who are not immigrants, as made evident by a recent case where a birth mother is battling adoptive parents to get her son back after placing him up for adoption.

The young mother says she was in a bad way during college when she learned she was expecting a child. Due to circumstances beyond her control, she and her mother were evicted from their home, and she wound up living in an attic room in her sibling's home. She consulted with adoption officials to see what her options were because many people had convinced her she could not provide a good home for her child.

The woman says the adoption officials basically told her she had no other options but to give her child up for adoption. She did and soon regretted her decision. She also says she later learned she did have several alternative options available and that the adoption officials were required by law to inform her of them when she inquired about it.

The situation has led to the birth mother filing a child custody lawsuit to get her son back from the adoptive parents. A court ruled in the birth mother's favor, saying the adoption agency had failed in its duty to provide required information. Any New Jersey parent, whether or not an immigrant, may seek legal support if he or she believes his or her personal rights have been violated in a child custody matter.

Source: nj1015.com, “NJ mom fights to get back child she gave up for adoption“, Adam Hochron, Accessed on April 30, 2018